Gustavus Myers (March 20, 1872–1942) was an American

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

who published a series of highly critical and influential studies on the social costs of wealth accumulation. The Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award was named after him, which honoured books which were judged to be "outstanding in helping shed light on bigotry in America".

Childhood and family

Gustavus Myers was born March 20, 1872, in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

, the son of Julia Hillman and Abram Myers. He attended school for a time while the impoverished family lived in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. His father was largely absent. At the age of 14 Myers began working in a

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

. He continued his own education by reading avidly and attending public lectures. His older brother Jerome Myers became a painter associated with the Ashcan School. Gustavus married Genevieve Whitne, Massachusetts, on September 23, 1904, and they had two children together.Samantha Maziarz, "Gustavus Myers," ''Class in America: An Encyclopedia,'' ed. Robert E. Weir. ABC-CLIO, 2007; p. 555

Career

In 1891, Myers went to work as a reporter for the '' Philadelphia Record,'' leaving the next year for

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he remained for the rest of his life.Francis X. Gannon, ''A Biographical Dictionary of the American Left: Volume 4.'' Boston: Western Islands, 1973; pp. 507-508. In the 1890s, Myers became a member of the People's Party (commonly known as the "Populists"), later joining the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...

(SPA). He published 'The History of

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was an American political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789, as the Tammany Society. It became the main local ...

' in 1901, and to explore his interest in

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, teleportation, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry (paranormal), psychometry) and other paranormal cla ...

, ''Beyond the Borderline of Life'' in (1910). In the 1910s, he emerged as a leading scholar on American socialism by authoring a series of volumes for the Charles H. Kerr Publishing Company, the country's largest publisher of

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...

s and books on

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

. Between 1909 and 1914 Myers published three volumes on the history of family wealth in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, one volume on the same topic for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and a history of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

. These publications were frequently cited and used in an academic setting for several decades, with Myers' ''History of the Great American Fortunes'' revived in a single volume format in 1936. ''History of the Great American Fortunes'' was Myers' most important and influential work, documenting at great length the corruption and criminality underlying the formation and accumulation of the great American fortunes of the 19th century. From Astor and Vanderbilt, Jay Gould and Marshall Field, Stanford and Harriman, to Elkins, Morgan and Hill, Whitney, Rockefeller, Dodge, Havemeyer and numerous others, Myers detailed the permanently devastating effects of wealth accumulation on the structure of the American economy, society, and the quality of life of the vast majority of Americans. Myers' approach was by no means ''Marxist'' and he split with the

(SPA) in 1917 over the SPA's position against US involvement in World War I. His perspective was to expose the legal and administrative enablement of

financial crime Financial crime is crime committed against property, involving the unlawful conversion of the ownership of property (belonging to one person) to one's own personal use and benefit. Financial crimes may involve fraud (cheque fraud, credit card f ...

s by legislation and the

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

of government bodies nominally delegated to enforce it. His work and approach could be compared to the modern political writings of

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...

, such as '' Manufacturing Consent'', which patiently explain the functionality of modern propaganda models through scholarly documentation. In 1918, Myers contributed to the US war effort by publishing a book attacking what he called "Germany's Sinister Propaganda," ''The German Myth: The Falsity of Germany's "Social Progress" Claims.'' Myers received a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 1941, which he used to write a book entitled ''History of Bigotry in the United States''.

Death

Gustavus Myers died on December 7, 1942, in

Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, at the age of 70. He is buried in the historic Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.

Legacy

Myers has been associated with the

muckraking The muckrakers were reform-minded journalists, writers, and photographers in the Progressive Era in the United States (1890s–1920s) who claimed to expose corruption and wrongdoing in established institutions, often through sensationalist publ ...

era of US literature, somewhat erroneously, since his work was not journalistic, did not aim at popular magazine publication, and took a scholarly, investigative and documentary approach to its subjects. His papers are housed at the American Heritage Center of the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

at Laramie. Included in the of archival material are photographs of Myers and the manuscripts of two unpublished non-fiction books. A finding aid is available on site. The Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights existed from 1984 to 2009. Founded by James R. Bennett (born 1932), a professor of English at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

, it took its name in inspiration from Myer's final work. The center was most known for the Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award, ten of which were given out each year for books which were judged to be "outstanding in helping shed light on bigotry in America."Gustavus Myers Center For The Study of Bigotry and Human Rights in North America
"Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights 2002 Award Winners,"
December 10, 2002. Retrieved July 18, 2010.

Works

* ''History of Public Franchises in New York City.'' New York: Reform Club Committee on City Affairs, 1900.
''The History of Tammany Hall''
New York: self-published, 1901.
''Making of America: The History of Tammany Hall''
Boni and Liveright, 1917.
''“Bolshevist Propaganda Ninety Years Ago,”''
The Weekly Review, Vol. I, May/December, 1919. * ''History of the Great American Fortunes.'
Volume 1Volume 2Volume 3
Chicago: Charles H. Kerr & Co., 1909–1910. * ''History of the Great American Fortunes.'' Single volume expanded edition, New York, Modern Library, 1936.
''Beyond the Borderline of Life: A Summing Up of the Results of the Scientific Investigation of Psychic Phenomena.''
Boston: Ball Publishing Co., 1910.
''History of The Supreme Court of the United States.''
Chicago: Charles H. Kerr & Co., 1912.
''A History of Canadian Wealth.''
Chicago: Charles H. Kerr & Co., 1914. * "A Study of the Causes of Industrial Accidents," ''Journal of the American Statistical Association,'' Vol. 14 (Sept. 1915), pp. 672–694.
''The German Myth: The Falsity of Germany's "Social Progress" Claims.''
New York: Boni and Liveright, 1918.
''Ye Olden Blue Laws.''
New York: Century Co., 1921. * ''The History of American Idealism.'' New York: Boni and Liveright, 1925.
''America Strikes Back: A Record of Contrasts.''
New York: Ives Washburn, 1935. * ''The Ending of Hereditary American Fortunes.'' New York: J. Messner, 1939. * ''History of Bigotry in the United States.'' New York: Random House, 1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, Gustavus 1872 births 1942 deaths American socialists Members of the Socialist Party of America 19th-century American historians 20th-century American historians American parapsychologists 19th-century American journalists 20th-century American journalists American male journalists American male non-fiction writers 19th-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers Writers from Trenton, New Jersey Journalists from New Jersey Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Historians from New Jersey